Aussie small-business owners fare among worst for wellbeing

According to new data, small-business owners in Australia are struggling with wellbeing issues more than the rest of the population.

The global state of small business owner wellbeing report from software company Xero revealed that Australia had the second-lowest overall wellbeing for small-business owners of the seven countries surveyed. With small businesses making up 97 per cent of all businesses in Australia, more needs to be done to address this issue.

According to Xero, this dissatisfaction is due to a “myriad of challenges small-business owners are dealing with in 2023 — including high inflation, slowing economic growth, concern about staff wellbeing and general uncertainty about the future”.

The countries listed from most positive to negative in small-business owner wellbeing were:

1. South Africa
2. Singapore
3. New Zealand
4. Canada
5. United States
6. Australia
7. United Kingdom

“These insights are telling us that we need to do more to support Australian small-businesses owners and their wellbeing. The stress on business owners to manage different challenges is taking its toll on individuals, so we should be continually looking at ways to ease some of the burdens in order to help small businesses thrive,” said Xero Australia country manager Will Buckley.

“On a productivity level, we encourage small-business owners to leverage technology and automate processes where possible, so they can take back time to focus on leading their business and working on other areas that they love.”

Access to support may be playing a role in the results, as 24 per cent of small-business owners said they can’t access affordable counselling and support, higher than the average of 21 per cent.

Furthermore, 26 per cent said managing employee mental health issues is a constant stress for their business. Another 12 per cent said that work-related stress is affecting their personal lives, which was the second highest of the countries surveyed, only behind South Africa.

Mr Buckley continued: “While tools like Xero can help relieve some of the pressure on day-to-day back office functions of running a business, we encourage small-business owners to seek professional help if they are struggling. Making use of resources available from great organisations like.”

“Beyond Blue, [which] we’re proud to partner with, can enable small-business owners to improve their mental health so they can continue the incredible role they play in local communities.”

Being unable to take time off could be playing a role in these results, as burnout can easily lead to issues. According to Xero, 52 per cent of small-business owners aren’t able to take regular time off.

Patrice O’Brien, chief community officer at Beyond Blue, commented: “Running a business can be stressful at times, and we see all too often the pressures it can put on small-business owners and their families. For those that are struggling and in need of support, we encourage them to take advantage of services like Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners program.”

“Delivered by mental health coaches who have a small-business background and understand the unique challenges facing small-business owners, the program helps equip Australians with tools and healthy coping strategies to manage the everyday stressors of running a small business.”